Windmill.



' I s. BAKER.

WINDMILL.

APPLICATION FILED IuNE 30.1916` 1,251,619. Patenmd m1, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET J. S. BAKER.

WINDMILL. A* APPLICATION FILED 11111530, I9l6. 1,251,619; Patented Jan. 1, 19m

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

immuun JOHN S. BAKER, OF EVANSVILLE, WISCONSIN.

WINDMILL.

Specieation of Letters Patent.y

Patented Jan. 1,1918.

Application led June 30, 1916. Serial No. 106,908.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN S. BAKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Evansville, in the county of Rock and State of lVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Windmills; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention is an improvement in windmills, particularly of the type known as vaneless windmills.

In previous constructions of windmills known to me, when the wheel is turning slowly, the bottom sections drop slightly out of the wind and the top sections come back into the wind. This movement of the sections during the rotation of the wheel wears the joints and makes .a disagreeable noise which increases with time as the parts become worn.

In overcoming this objection, the invention employs means, such as stop devices which limit the movement of the sections into the wind whereby it is possible to bring each section into engagement with a stop device when moved in one direction. Stop devices are also employed to limit the movement of the sections out of the wind, or in the opposite direction. Should the shipper rod fail in a storm, the construction of the device is such that the wind will hold the sections to which the rod is connected in a safe position.l that is, against a stop device with the sails endwise to the wind. Otherwise, the wheel section would continue to turn until it presented its full `surface to the wind, which would probably result in injury to the wheel.

Furthermore, in overcoming the objectionable noise, as well as the wear on the parts or joints, means are provided to prevent the dropping of the sections when the mill wheel is rotating slowly, and tension devices are employed which cooperate with such means to prevent the dropping of the sections. The force of the tension devices is suiiicient to counteract the force of gravity until a r0- speed,- or in a stronger wind.

`movement of the tubular portion 5.

tating speed has been reached which causes a centrifugal force to act upon the sections and overcome the force of gravity. By the employment of the tension devices, the kinvention aims to balance the running of the wheel so that vthe wheel will run at practically constant speed when the wind is sutliciently strong to rotate at a predetermined Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

l/Vhile a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the cone struction therein lshown is for the purposes .l of illustration only, and not as defining the limits of the invention. Y

In the drawings:

Figure l is a detail view, partly in section, of a tower and a ypart of a wind wheel mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View disclosing 75 a spider and its connections with parts of the wheel.

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are detail views of the stop devices carried by the section journals.

The tower may bezof any preferred form or construction. The tower is indicated at l Aand is shown provided with an upperY bearing surface 2 near its upper end, and with an annular bearingsurface 3 below the upper end of the tower. Rotatably mounted at the upper end of the tower is a shaft supporting device which may be inthe form of Aa casting indicated at LI having a dependingr This tubular section 5 tubular section 5. has an annular flanged portion 6 which `rests against the bearing 2 of the tower. The tu? j bular portion 5 may be providedl with a col-- lar or extended portion 7 to engage the bearing 3 of the tower and limit the upward Y The usual pitman is indicated at-S and is provided with a head 9 at its upper end, swiveled in a bearing at 10, which bearing is mountedv i on a rocking guide ll. The rocking guide x11 is'mounted upon an arm'lQ of the casi-,ing "100 4 and this guide also supports a short pitman 13 which is connected to a crank 14 of the main shaft 15 carried by the casting 4. The casting 4 may have suitable bearings indicated at 16 for the shaft 15, andr'the shaft may be of a length to eXtend beyond the casting at each end thereof, as illustrated in the drawings.

The casting 4 is shown provided with an aperture 17 which may be at an angle to the bearing section of the casting 4 which supports the shaft 15./ Adjacent the aperture shown), while the upper end of this rod or wire 2O is shown secured to a flattened plate 21 which extends through guide members 22 of the tower and is provided with an .arm 23 having a recessed portion 24, This recessed portion is adapted to receive and support a' sleeve 2 5 having a hub 26 which is adapted to be maintained in the recessed portion 24 ofthe arm 23 by any suitable'means which will permit the sleeve 25 and the hub 26 to have rotative movement relative to the supporting arm 23, and which will permit the plate 21.to have reciprocating movement in its bearings 22 to produce a reciprocating movement also of the sleeve 25. This sleeve 25 is shown provided with a rod 27 Vwhich extends to a flexible connection shown in the form of a chain 28Y which passes over the sheave 19 to a rod 29 and operates totransf'er the vertical reciprocating movement of the rod 20 and plate 21 to a substantially horizontal movement through the rod; 29 by instrumentalities which. eect the various movements ot' the wheel sections.

Mounted on the extension of the casting 4 andpreferably splined or otherwise secured to the shaft 15, is a hub 30 for the wheel, the hub being shown provided with a bowl 31 near one end and with. an outwardly flared sleeve-like portion 31a at the rear of the hub. The main portion 30 of the hub is shown provided. with a shoulder 32 which may abut against the end 33 of the casting 4 to limit the movement of the hub in one direction. The hub may be provided with flanged members 35 eXteriorly thereof to which may be secured thev spokes 36 of the wheel. The spokes may be braced by suitable brace rods 37 which are secured to the spokes at 38 and. at 39 to the sleeve-like portion 31 ofthelhub.. Slidably mounted upon the tubular arm 3 4 ofI the casting 4 is Va sleeve 40 which may be prevented from rotative movement on the arm 34 by any suitable means such as a spline 41. This sleeve 40 is shown provided with an annular flange 42 which serves as means to support a collar 43 and retain the collar in rotative position around the sleeve 40 and the arm 34, by means of the channeled flange 44 of the collar receiving the flange 42 of the sleeve. The collar 43 may be provided also with ears 45 to which may be connected rods 46 extending from the collar 43 to an arm 47 of a lever 48.

Two of these levers 48 are shown in the drawings, and they may be pivoted at 49 to the shaft 15 near the end of said shaft. The levers 48 are preferably provided with a plurality of gear teeth 50. Y At the end ot the shaft 15 opposite to that which contains the crank 14, the shaft may be reduced in diameter to provide a shoulder for the reception of a hub 51 of the shipper spider, the spider being shown provided with a plurality of segments 52. The spider is provided with a plurality of gear teeth 53 on one surface thereof, which teeth are designed to mesh with the teeth 50 of the levers 48.` To malte sure that the teeth 50 of the sector lev rs will mesh properly with the teeth 53 ot the shipper spider, there is provided a tat tooth 5401i the shipper spider which engages a corresponding wide notch 55 on the lever between two of the teeth 50.

Extending,i from the segments 52 of the shipper lever are a plurality.7 et shipper rods 56. These rods 56 are connected to wingsupporting bars 57 said bars being arranged to support a series of wings 58 torthe wheel. The shipper' rods 56 are preferably pivotallv connected at 59 directly` to a bar 60 carried by the wing-supporting bars 57. it the end ot each spoke 36 there may be provit terminal mounting elements 61 which have bearing ears 62 to support hinge rods 63. These hinge rods extend from one spoke 36 to an adjacent spolre 36 and serve as means for pivotally mounting castings 64 which are secured to the wing-supporting bars 57. These castings 64 are each shown provided with an elongated arm. 65 serving as a stop when the casting 64 is moved on the rod 63 in one direction', so that said arm 65 will engage a portion 66 of the terminal element 61. This permits the wings 58 to be positioned at substantialla7 right angles to the spoke 36. lVhen it is desired to position the wings 58 substantial alinement with the spoke 36, 0r at substantially 90 degrees from the position which the wings assume when the supporting arm 65 engages the element 61, other stop devices are employed to limitsuch movement of the,wing-supporting bars and the wings around the rod This may be eiiected by having the stop device in the form of a nib 67 carried by the casting 64 engage a rearwardly extended portion 68 of the terminal element 6l.

The spokes 36 may be provided also with a plate 69 to which may be secured a tension device 70 shown in the form of a coiled spring from which spring extends a rod 71 which is pivotally connected with sectors of the shipper spider. Two of the devices are shown in the drawings, but it is obvious that any number of these springs may be employed to effect the function desired.

When the wheel sections are opened out of the wind, the arms of the casting 64 bear against the spoke terminals 61.* They are held in this position by the tension of the wire or rod 20 which is connected to lthe manually controlled means which operate plate 2l. It is to be understood that the force applied to this wire 20 is communicated through plate 21 to the sleeve25 and from the sleeve to the rod 27 through the flexible connection, shown as a chain 28 to the rod 29 which is connected with the slidable sleeve 40 to move the sleeve toward the largerv end of the hub sleeve 31.V The re-v ciprocation of the sleeve 40 acts through its collar 43 and rods46 to move the levers 48 upon their pivots 49 and thereby rotate 'the shipper spider 5l by reason of the teeth 50 of the levers 48 engaging the teeth 53 of the spider. This rotation of the shipper spider extends the springs and at the same time operates upon the shipper rods 56 to turn the wheel sections 57 so that their sail surfaces are parallel to the wind direction. When the wire 2O to the manually controlled lever is released, the springs 70 operate to rotate the shipper spider and draw upon the shipper rods 56 to thereby bring the sail surfaces at right angles to the wind. It. will be understood that the sail surfaces are prevented from traveling more than flat intov the wind by the stops 67, 68 on the castings 64 and 615 respectively.

The center of gravity of the sail surfaces when they are flat in the wind is preferably a little toward the tower and toward Athe center of the wheel from the hinged rod 63. Hence, as the wheel rotates, centrifugal force draws upon theA shipper rods 56 and this force, when it becomes great enough, will cause the extension of the springs 70. The position the sections assume is such a position that there is a balance between the centrifugal force of the sections and the springs 70, and the proportioning of .the lever arms and spring properties is such that the wheel will run at practically constant speed whenever the Wind is sufciently strong to bring it up to a predeterminedl speed.

Should one 0f the shipper rods 56 become disengaged at either end, its section will be thrown by centrifugal fo-rce and wind pressure to a position parallel to the wind, but cannot go further because of the stops 65 engaging a portion 66 of the spoke terminal.

The advantage of the stops 67 and 68 which prevent the sections from coming more than flat into the wind is that they reduce wear of the sections on-the rod 63. Tere it not for these stops, when the wheel is rotating slowly, the sections at the bottom of the wheel would drop slightly out of the wind and take up whatever looseness of motion there would be in the various joints permitting this motion, and when on the top of the wheel, the sections would drop to a position flat to the wind, taking up the slack motion in the opposite direction. This dropping causes a disagreeable noise in windmills of the vaneless type and an unnecessary wear on the joints, which increases their looseness and noise. The addition Vof these stops prevents the dropping of the sections as the force of the springs 7 O through the shipper rods 56 is more than sufficient to counteract the force of gravity until a rotating speed has been reached which causes a centrifugal force in excess of the force of gravity.

The tubular sleeve 31a serves as a protection against weather for the slidable lsleeve 40, and the bowl 31 serves to protect the pivoted levers 48 from sleet and ice.

It is obviousy that various changes in the form and proportion of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the right is reserved to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.,`

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A windmill including a shipper spider having gear teeth, levers mounted near the spider and having geared segments to mesh with the teeth of the spider, andV manually controlled instrumentalities to move the geared levers to rotate the shipper spider.

2. A windmill including a wheel having a I the centrifugal force of the sections and gearV levers. y

3. A windmill comprising a shaft, a casing therefor, a wheel having a tubular huband a plurality of movable sail sections carried by the hub, a shipper spider mounted on the shaft and having means of connection with the sail sections, a sleeve slidably mounted on the shaft casing. and housed by the tubular hub, a swivel rotatably mounted on the sleeve, gear members to rotate the shipper spider relative to the shaft by movement of the sleeve and manually controlled means to reciprocate the sleeve for moving the wheel sail sections to a predetermined position.

4. A wind-mill comprising a tower having a casting pivotally mounted thereon t0 receive a wheel shaft, a wheel provided withv a plurality ofmovable sections mounted on said shaft, a spider carried by the shaft, means of connection between the spider and the movable'sections, coperating gear members carried by the shaft and spider, a sleeve slidably mounted upon the casting and connected with said gear members, and manually operated means carried by the tower to shift the sleeve upon the casting to thereby rotate the spider relative to the shaft, said rotation operating to move the sections of the wheel.

5. A windmill comprising a shaft havingA having a plurality of gear teeth, a plurality of levers having gear teeth to mesh with the teeth of the spider for rotating the spider and moving the wheel sections, a sleeve slidably mounted on the shaft casing and having means of connection with the gear levers, and manually controlled means to reciprocate the sleeve for moving the wheel sections to a plurality of positions.

6. A windmill comprising a shaft having a wheel mounted thereon, said wheel being provided with a hub and pivotally mounted sections, means to limit the pivotal movement of the sections in a plurality of directions, a shipper spider rotatable on the shaft, means to connect the spider with the wheel sections, resilient means carried by the wheel to maintain the spider and wheel sections in a predetermined position, a plurality of levers pivotally mounted on the shaft, said levers having gear teeth to mesh with gear teeth on the shipper spider, a casingv to house the shaft, a sleeve housed by the wheel hub and slidable on the shaft casing, means to connect the sleeve with the gear levers, and manually controlled means to reciprocate the sleeve for moving the wheel sections to a plurality of positions.

7. A windmill comprising a shaft, a casing therefor, a wheel mounted on the shaft and having a plurality. of movable sections, a Shipper Spider mutable on. the shaft hasta having, means of. connection with saidv lsections, a plurality ofV levers pivoted to the each lever gear segment to insure proper` meshing of the teeth, and manually controlled instrumentalities to move said levers and, shift the wheel, sectionsto a plurality of positions.

8. VA windmill comprising a tower havingy a swiveled top and a tubular memberextending into the tower through which a pitman operates, the swiveled tower` carrying a wheel with movable wings, and instrumentalities to move the wings including, segmental gear levers and a reciprocating sleeve, an` elongated plate mounted in guideways in the tower and adapted to be reciprocated by manually controlled means, said plate having an arm to mount a tubular sleeve which encircles the pitman and is capable of rotative movement with relation to the tower and the elongated plate, andV flexible means to connect the tubular sleeve to the reciprocating plate, whereby the reciprocation of the elongated plate will operate the reciprocating sleeve of the swiveled top to move the wings of the wheel.

9. Ign a wind mill, the combination of a wheel provided with movable sections,stops and journals therefor, a shipper spider, and gear members to rotate the spider.

10. In a wind mill, the combination of a wheel provided with a plurality of movable sections, section journal stops, a shipper spider to move the sections, and lever segment gears to rotatev the spider.

11. In a wind mill, ay wheelI comprising a plurality; of movableV sections, a toothed spider to move the` sections and toothed levers to move the Spider. i

l2. A windmill" having a wheel provided with a plurality of movable sections, a. shipper spider therefor, sector gears for controlling. the movement of said sections, said gears operating to rotate the spider relative to the wheel, and spring actuated devices for. limiting the movement of said sections. i

13,. A wind mill having a wheel provided. with a pluralityV of movable sections, a lhub for the wheel, connecting means between the hub and the sections, and gear membersV within the hub to move the sections.

14;. A windmill provided with a wheel comprising VaV plurality of movable sections,

mounted upon a hub'provided with a shield,

a shipper spider, and pivotal elements mounted within theshield of the hub to cofoperate with1 the spider to move the 'secfiaes a casting Within the hub of the Wheel, a plu- 15. A Wind mill comprising a tower, a the sleeve to rotate the spider to move the 10 casting rotatably mounted thereon, a shaft sections. mounted in said casting, a Wheel mounted In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature on the shaft, a sleeve slidable upon the in presence of tWo Witnesses.

rality of movable sections carried by the JOHN S BAKER' Wheel, a shipper spider carried by the shaft, Witnesses: means to connect said spider to the Wheel ANNA HoDGsoN, sections, and segmental gears operated by E. C. UPHOFF.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

